An amazing 2022 season for the West Hills College Coalinga football team will continue into the postseason. A day after earning a share of the Golden Coast League championship, the Falcons were invited to a bowl game.

On Dec. 3, West Hills will travel to Foothill College to take on the Owls in the Silicon Valley Bowl. Kick off is schedule for 1 p.m.

"It's always fun to play in December," said West Hills head coach Justin Berna.

The Falcons will take a 6-4 overall record into the contest after wrapping up the regular season this past Saturday with a 36-26 win over Gavilan College on Sophomore Day. The victory combined with a 31-19 loss by Merced to Monterey Peninsula resulted in all three teams ending with a 5-1 league record and a three-way tie at the top of the final standings.

Knowing a victory had huge postseason implications, the Falcons put together another big game on offense against Gavilan.

Quarterback Jaice Holt was outstanding, tossing 5 touchdowns, including three to receiver Dagostino Saintal. Holt completed 20 of 33 passes for 220 yards with 5 TDs and no interceptions.

Saintal came through in the clutch for the Falcons, hauling in 7 receptions for 119 yards and touchdowns of 21, 36, and 12 yards. KJ Ford had a 17-yard TD reception while DeQuan Green's 19-yard touchdown catch with 53 seconds left in the contest sealed the victory for West Hills.

Vondarious Gordon ran for 100+ yards for the fifth time this season as he totaled 128 yards on 12 carries. Gordon averaged a season-high 10.7 yards per run.

On defense, Rusty Finona had a solid game with 6 tackles, an interception, and a pair of broken up passes. Juan Donoso added 5 tackles, was in on 2 sacks, and also intercepted a pass. Darius Doze led the defense with 2.5 sacks and totaled 4 tackles.

"It was a great team win," said Berna. "I thought we played well and controlled the game. We knew what we had to do going into this final week. We got exactly what we wanted and were able to get a share of the conference title and solidify a bowl game for us."

The Falcons return to a postseason bowl game for the first time since 2016. That year, West Hills closed out an 8-3 season with a 20-14 win over Shasta College in the American Division Championship Bowl.

From 2014-16, West Hills appeared in three straight American Division Championship bowl games, winning twice (2014, 2016).